Fountain Street Baptist Church

Fountain Street Baptist Church in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, was important in the lives of Achsah Jones Stowell and her daughters Anna and Catherine during the latter half of the 1800s. Catherine Stowell met her future husband Carey Reed Daniells at this church when he visited family in Grand Rapids. They married in 1871. Excerpts from her diary indicate that Catherine was a deeply religious person who frequently reflected on her relationship with God and her own human failings.

Today’s Fountain Street Church is no longer affiliated with the Baptist Church or any other mainstream church. The FSC website states:

Although founded as early as 1842, between 1896 to 1956 Fountain Street Baptist went from being a mainstream Baptist church to being a non-creedal liberal church, ultimately severing its ties to the American Baptist Church and eschewing any denomination.

The website goes on to say, “Our current sanctuary and church house were built in 1924 following a fire that destroyed the previous structure in 1917.”

During a recent visit to Grand Rapids, Sandra and I toured the sanctuary. Church staff was unable to provide us with photographs of the original structure that burned, but we took pictures of the current edifice.

Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids, built in 1924. Photo by Sandra Winegar.